On the walk that snakes up from the main reception to the press room at the Philips Stadion, the walls are adorned by legends of PSV Eindhoven past. Among those to be celebrated are Holland legend Ruud Gullit, former Everton manager Ronald Koeman and Brazil World Cup winner - and the original - Ronaldo.

But the buzz among the gathering media pack for the press conference ahead of Liverpool's final Champions League first stage game against the Dutch club very much centred on one man: Arne Slot.

While there is a rivalry between PSV and Slot's former club Feyenoord, there is also a sense of pride among the Holland football community at both Slot assuming the role as Jurgen Klopp's successor at Anfield and also the manner in which he has led Liverpool to the top of the Premier League and Champions League tables.

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However, when told he was viewed almost as a saint by some in his homeland, Slot was self-depreciating in his response.

"When I look in the mirror it is not always that pleasant, I have to confess," he responded to laughs among the media contingent. "To be a little bit self-critical, some spots and I wish I had a bit more hair for example.

"As a head coach I am only looking at things that are positive. It gives you a certain pressure to perform in the next game. People expect that working at Feyenoord you end up finishing first, even if you are not dealing with the press all day and what people write about you.

"But I concentrate on the things I can influence, and me and my staff always want to prepare as best as possible. Yes I look at myself in the mirror but not that many times! I'm just working hard."

One person who won't be present at the game is Slot's father Arend. But rather than sparking further discussion over his dad's view that last week's 2-1 home win over Lille that ensured qualification for the Champions League last 16 wasn't the most exciting, Slot offered a more understandable reasoning.

"My father will not be here, he says he can watch much better from the television and sees many more things," he said. "He is from Bergentheim, the village where I was born, and in the Netherlands what I don't miss is the amount of traffic there is in this country!

"I don’t think he needs to drive two-and-a-half hours to be here. But I don't think he will be watching with too many nerves from the couch at home."

And while the demand for tickets this week lessened among friends and family once Slot gave a hint at the heavy rotation that was to come, the Liverpool boss gave a hint of the usual way of things for home games.

"No, not many people have asked for tickets," he says. "My family and my brother (Jakko) is here. I don't know if it's always like this but when we want a ticket for Liverpool they sometimes need to be sitting in the stands of the opponent's team at Anfield!

"After the weekend some more people were interested and asked me what the XI to play here was, and then the interest became less and less! But still think the Liverpool fans are looking forward to this game as it's a beautiful game to play and we are still bringing good players."